Diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes a person's blood sugar level to become too high.

What causes diabetes?

• The amount of sugar in the blood is controlled by a hormone called insulin, which is produced by the pancreas (a gland behind the stomach).
• When food is digested and enters your bloodstream, insulin moves glucose out of the blood and into cells, where it's broken down to produce energy.
• However, if you have diabetes, your body is unable to break down glucose into energy. This is because there's either not enough insulin to move the glucose, or the insulin produced doesn't work properly.

There are two main types of diabetes:

Type 1 diabetes

• Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the body attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells, meaning no insulin is produced. This causes glucose to quickly rise in the blood.
• Nobody knows exactly why this happens; science tells us it’s got nothing to do with diet or lifestyle.
• About 10 per cent of people with diabetes have Type 1.

Type 2 diabetes

• In Type 2 diabetes, the body doesn’t make enough insulin, or the insulin it makes doesn’t work properly, meaning glucose builds up in the blood.
• Type 2 diabetes is caused by genetic and environmental factors. Up to 58 per cent of Type 2 diabetes cases can be delayed or prevented through a healthy lifestyle.
• About 90 per cent of people with diabetes have Type 2

Many people have type 2 diabetes for years without realising because the early symptoms tend to be general. Type 1 diabetes can develop quickly over weeks or even days.

Symptoms of diabetes

It's very important for diabetes to be diagnosed as early as possible because it will get progressively worse if left untreated. You should therefore visit your GP as soon as possible if you have symptoms, such as feeling thirsty, passing urine more often than usual, and feeling tired all the time.

In 2010, there were approximately 3.1 million people aged 16 or over with diabetes in England. By 2030, this figure is expected to rise to 4.6 million, with 90% of those affected having type 2 diabetes.

The charity Diabetes UK estimates that there are 850,000 people in England with undiagnosed diabetes.

Many more people have blood sugar levels above the normal range, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Often called prediabetes, the risk of developing full-blown diabetes is increased.

Symptoms of diabetes

The main symptoms of diabetes are:

• feeling very thirsty
  
• urinating more frequently than usual, particularly at night
  
• feeling very tired
  
• weight loss and loss of muscle bulk
  
• itching around the penis or vagina, or frequent episodes of thrush
  
• cuts or wounds that heal slowly
  
• blurred vision (caused by the lens of the eye becoming dry)
  

More help for people with diabetes in Ealing

A new initiative has been launched in Ealing to give greater advice and support to people who have diabetes in Ealing.

Five new clinics for people with diabetes have been set up across the borough:

• Grand Union Village Health Centre
• Hillview Surgery

Serving people in the north of the borough

• Featherstone Road Health Centre
• Broadway Clinic
• Ealing Hospital Serving people in Southall and the west of the borough
• Crown Street Surgery Serving people in Acton and the east of the borough

Four diabetes specialist nurses and a diabetes nurse consultant are also based in the borough, with 15 community champions trained to raise awareness of diabetes in the community.

You can also get additional advice and support by joining the Ealing Diabetes Patient Forum. This is a great opportunity to hear from specialist clinicians and exchange information with other people living with diabetes. To find out more about the forum, please contact Diabetes UK on 020 7424 1000.

Ealing has over 20,000 people with diabetes and the number is predicted to rise to 40,000 over the next ten years.

Dr Raj Chandok, Ealing CCG Clinical Lead for Diabetes and Vice Chair, says: "Once people have diabetes, they can have it for the rest of their life, and it can result in complications and serious illness. However, the real tragedy is that for many people it can be an avoidable illness. We have set up new diabetes clinics in the borough, making it much easier for people to access services without needing to travel to a hospital.

We also have nurses specialising in diabetes working in the borough who can give treatment and support to people. And we have trained 15 community champions – people who have a detailed understanding of the disease and can advise people in the community on how to avoid diabetes and how best to look after themselves if they become ill.

Our message to people in Ealing is diabetes can be avoidable - eat a low-fat, low-sugar diet, take regular exercise, moderate alcohol consumption and don’t smoke.”

People who want to find out more about diabetes should check the Diabetes UK website and consult their GP.

Prevention and Reducing Your Risk

Although there are no lifestyle changes that will prevent the development of Type 1 Diabetes, there are plenty of things that can be done to prevent yourself from developing Type 2 Diabetes. Eat Healthily and Move More. Visit these websites for more information:

• Diabetes UK Prevention info
  
• NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP)
  
• NHS Choices Reduce Your Risk

Resources

• Diabetes Integrated Care Ealing (DICE). The diabetes service provides specialist clinics in the community, more convenient to where you live and reduce the need to attend hospital unnecessarily.
• Ealing Council Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) Chapter gives information about the local picture and statistics
• Diabetes UK has information that can be downloaded in different languages, 'Diabetes: The Basics'
  
• NHS Choices Diabetes webpages have comprehensive information about type 1 and type 2
  
• Find out more about Healthy Eating.
  
• Diabetes.co.uk have lots of info relevant to families with diabetes and professionals including free to download posters and free to download recipe books. There is also information available on different diets including 'Mediterranean diet'.
• How Diabetes can affect ethnic communities in the UK. A report published in 2012. The baseline studies were funded by the Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK.

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